Argentina has the pride of having been world champions twice, while the Netherlands has the weight of having been a three-times beaten finalist.
The game is far from a nostalgia fest, however, pitting one of the greatest strikers of all time against one of the best defenders of the modern era, with Lionel Messi looking to unlock a defense lined up by Virgil van Dijk of the Liverpool.
The game also pits the youngest manager in the tournament against the oldest.
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, 44, will have to outrun the wily 71-year-old Louis van Gaal, whose résumé includes league titles with Barcelona and Bayern Munich and a Champions League win with Ajax, in his first major tournament.
The South Americans went into the tournament, as always, with high hopes at home for a victory on a par with those celebrated in 1978 and 1986, while the Dutch had more moderate expectations having failed to qualify four years ago.
Still, it was smooth progress in Qatar for the Dutch, who topped their group and then beat the United States in the round of 16 in some comfort and style, looking solid in defense and – despite critics labeling them boring – more and more effective in their attacks. play.
With Memphis Depay’s fitness gradually improving and Cody Gakpo enjoying a good tournament, the Dutch have a punch to their offense that many feared would be missed.
Argentina started the tournament with a shock loss to Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, but rallied to finish first in their group. Messi then ignited the style by overcoming Australia to book their place in the round of 16.
Unsurprisingly, Van Gaal sees Messi’s creativity as a serious threat, but raised a few eyebrows when he also mentioned the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s lack of defensive pace.
“Messi is the most dangerous creative player, he’s capable of creating a lot and scoring himself. But when they lose the ball, he doesn’t play much, this gives us chances,” he said.
Surprisingly, given their pedigree, Argentina have never beaten the Netherlands in 90 minutes in nine matches between World Cups and friendlies.
But it’s the victory on penalties in São Paulo’s semi-final in 2014 that sticks in the mind of Van Gaal, who was in charge of the Netherlands at the time.
Van Gaal noted that while Messi was neutralized by the Netherlands in that match, it counted for little as the Argentines advanced after a shootout to end the Dutch dream of finally celebrating a world title.
A fonder memory for Dutch fans is the 1998 World Cup, where Dennis Bergkamp secured a place in the quarter-finals with a wonderful last-minute finish in a 2-1 victory.
Bergkamp is one of many superb talents the Netherlands have produced since getting the world to notice in the 1970s with a squad inspired by the genius Johan Cruyff.
Widely regarded as one of the best teams ever to win the World Cup, the Netherlands finished runners-up in 1974 and 1978, in the latter final losing 3-1 to hosts Argentina.
Top technical skills and clever tactics have been a part of the Dutch game ever since, but World Cup success eluded them, with only the 1988 European Championship title offering any consolation.
There is no player of the level of Bergkamp, Cruyff or Marco van Basten in this current version of the orange team. with perhaps only the towering midfielder Van Dijk deserving comparison in terms of class.
But the Argentines, familiar with their footballing history and their struggles with the Netherlands, expect to face a well-trained side who have not looked much trouble so far in this tournament.
“It’s not as brilliant as previous Dutch teams, but they are very clear about what they are doing,” said Scaloni. “It will be a great match between two historic teams.”
